Appeal Hearing For Niger Journalist Postponed

New York – An appeals court in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Monday postponed a hearing for Baba Alpha until March 12, the broadcast journalist’s lawyer, Amadou Boubacar Mossi, told CPJ. Alpha, a reporter for the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, is serving a two-year sentence for using false documents, in what his lawyer and local journalists said they believe is a retaliatory charge over his critical reporting, according to reports. Alpha was arrested on March 30, 2017, according to CPJ research.

“Every day that Baba Alpha spends behind bars is a glaring indictment of Niger’s judicial process that has been coopted to silence him,” said CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney. “Instead of delaying his appeal, the appeals court should overturn this unwarranted conviction and free him immediately.”